Soup. It's what's for dinner. Yesterday, today, tomorrow...
So a few weeks ago I had this really great soup in my fav sandwich shop. Sunday night I decided to see if I could recreate it. Here's what I did, how it worked, and suggestions for next time.
What I did:
I chopped up 3 small leeks and a clove of garlic and sauteed them with a bit of olive oil in my dutch oven. Then I added in 2 cans of artichoke hearts along with about half the water from the cans. I used an already cooked rotisserie chicken and shredded all the meat off the bone and threw most of it in the pot along with a carton of chicken broth. Then I added about 1 cup of heavy cream, a few pinches of salt and some ground black pepper. I let it simmer for a while and then we ate.
It was bland. Really bland. I added two more cloves of garlic and let it simmer more before putting it away for the night. Monday night we ate again and it was much more flavorful. But I think it could benefit from a) more leeks or onions, b) no water from the artichokes so you can better taste the chicken broth, and c) the extra garlic up front instead of added later.
Recipe for next time:
1 whole chicken, shredded*
3 cloves of garlic - minced (4 if they're all small)
4 leeks - chopped (more if they're small, or sub white or yellow onions)**
2 cans of artichoke hearts (about 3.5-4 artichokes in a can if you want to use fresh instead), drained***
1 carton of chicken broth (I think that's about the same as two cans??)
3/4 C of cream (or you could use milk or omit completely)
salt and pepper to taste
Let it simmer for at least an hour. But making in the morning or day before serving will let all the flavors mingle more for richer flavor. This made enough for two adults to have dinner two nights. Plus a large bowl for my lunch today that I didn't finish in one sitting.
*You could totally cook a chicken yourself and use the resulting broth to save money if you have time. Or you could cook up boneless breasts or thighs or whatever you have available with some of the garlic and leeks as your base and still use added broth. It all depends on what's on sale and how much time you have.
** I think you want enough to cover the bottom of your pot. Probably at least 1 cup worth when chopped.
*** If you go with canned, you might want to pick through them first. We had a few in our soup bowls that had a layer or two of tough outer leaves still on them. Not a bad thing, just annoying. I left the pieces in quarters -- you could chop smaller, but the longer the soup simmers, the more they'll start to break up some anyway so leaving the big pieces is fine unless you have little kids.
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So anyway... after warming the last bowlful up for lunch today, I sat down with it and a hunk of French bread and OMG, soooooooooo good. Like any soup, the more time it sits, the better it gets as the flavors all mingle together and get stronger.
Bon appetit!
What I did:
I chopped up 3 small leeks and a clove of garlic and sauteed them with a bit of olive oil in my dutch oven. Then I added in 2 cans of artichoke hearts along with about half the water from the cans. I used an already cooked rotisserie chicken and shredded all the meat off the bone and threw most of it in the pot along with a carton of chicken broth. Then I added about 1 cup of heavy cream, a few pinches of salt and some ground black pepper. I let it simmer for a while and then we ate.
It was bland. Really bland. I added two more cloves of garlic and let it simmer more before putting it away for the night. Monday night we ate again and it was much more flavorful. But I think it could benefit from a) more leeks or onions, b) no water from the artichokes so you can better taste the chicken broth, and c) the extra garlic up front instead of added later.
Recipe for next time:
1 whole chicken, shredded*
3 cloves of garlic - minced (4 if they're all small)
4 leeks - chopped (more if they're small, or sub white or yellow onions)**
2 cans of artichoke hearts (about 3.5-4 artichokes in a can if you want to use fresh instead), drained***
1 carton of chicken broth (I think that's about the same as two cans??)
3/4 C of cream (or you could use milk or omit completely)
salt and pepper to taste
Let it simmer for at least an hour. But making in the morning or day before serving will let all the flavors mingle more for richer flavor. This made enough for two adults to have dinner two nights. Plus a large bowl for my lunch today that I didn't finish in one sitting.
*You could totally cook a chicken yourself and use the resulting broth to save money if you have time. Or you could cook up boneless breasts or thighs or whatever you have available with some of the garlic and leeks as your base and still use added broth. It all depends on what's on sale and how much time you have.
** I think you want enough to cover the bottom of your pot. Probably at least 1 cup worth when chopped.
*** If you go with canned, you might want to pick through them first. We had a few in our soup bowls that had a layer or two of tough outer leaves still on them. Not a bad thing, just annoying. I left the pieces in quarters -- you could chop smaller, but the longer the soup simmers, the more they'll start to break up some anyway so leaving the big pieces is fine unless you have little kids.
-----------
So anyway... after warming the last bowlful up for lunch today, I sat down with it and a hunk of French bread and OMG, soooooooooo good. Like any soup, the more time it sits, the better it gets as the flavors all mingle together and get stronger.
Bon appetit!